Samuel Leming

Samuel Leming was a dedicated public servant in Waldron, Scott County, Arkansas, remembered in local histories as a county sheriff and community leader during the late 1870s. Contemporary and later local records show he was elected sheriff in 1878 and served his neighbors in a period when law enforcement often meant personal courage and steady presence in town life.

Though many personal details are sparse in the surviving public record, accounts of the Leming family say he was a husband and father. Family histories and county biographies record that he left a widow and children, and that his family remained part of the community after his death. Local genealogical materials note his role with the State or County Guards around 1878–79, indicating he took civic duties seriously beyond routine sheriff’s work.

Local newspapers and county histories record that he was mortally wounded while performing his duties in August 1879; the exact day is variously reported in period notices, and the database supplying this record gives the date of death as August 17, 1879. Contemporary newspaper snippets and later county histories describe the event in brief and emphasize that his death was connected to his effort to respond to a domestic disturbance and to preserve public safety—an outcome that cut short his life and service to family and town.

While the archival record available online does not include a family-authorized funeral notice or full obituary matching an exact published death notice for August 17, 1879, multiple reputable local-history sources confirm his identity, role as sheriff, and the month and year of his passing. Where precise personal details (such as a full birth date or a published obituary text) are not available in the sources consulted, this remembrance honors what is documented: Samuel Leming’s commitment to his community, his role as a husband and father, and the respect in which historic accounts remembered his public service. His life mattered to those who knew him and to the town he served, and that legacy endures in local histories and family records.